WLNE's Jim Hummel had the story last night of an officer reassigned to monitoring the metal detector at Providence Police headquarters, reportedly because he was hitting on attractive women during traffic stops. BeloBlog says an internal investigation is under way for an officer accused of improper conduct during MV stops.

According to audio, via WPRO, from the Providence Police Department's news conference today, Police Chief Dean Esserman says the Providence department won't participate in Governor Carcieri's order calling on local police to work with federal authorities on illegal immigration.

Esserman expressed concern that the order could make Providence residents less likely to report crime.

While Police Chief Dean Esserman has his critics, particularly at WPRO, I credit the chief for bringing some much-needed improvements to the department, including an overdue and robust commitment to community policing.

The street workers associated with the Institute for the Study & Practice of Nonviolence in Providence have been doing important work in reducing violence since they emerged on the scene in 2003, so it was good to hear about their receipt earlier this week of $352,000 in federal money. As those in the field know, making the case for prevention-based programs is always difficult, because it's hard to document those shootings and murders that don't happen.

Last night, Channel 6 featured the second installment of Jim Hummel's look at the Providence Police Department, focusing this time of the salary and benefits of Police Chief Dean Esserman. Co-anchor Allison Alexander, in introducing the piece, said she thought a lot of people would be surprised by the information, but, as Matt pointed out yesterday, much of this was reported more than four years ago by Amanda Milkovits in the ProJo:

It has become an article of faith for critics of Providence Mayor David N. Cicilline that the Providence Police Department is artificially lowering its crime statistics. Some city councilors have groused about this issue, and WLNE-TV's Jim Hummel last night took a crack at the story. You can find a link to view his report here

The City of Providence's effort to revoke the $64,000-a-year pension of former police chief Urbano Prignano Jr. is among the topics slated for tomorrow's meeting of the Providence Retirement Board. Also slated for consideration are the retirement benefits of Buddy Cianci and his former right-hand man, Frank Corrente.

The Providence Journal quoted Police Chief Dean Esserman as asking the Retirement Board to “do justice” by revoking Prignano’s pension. The story did not mention, however, whether the pensions of other officers associated with the cheating scandal will also be reviewed.

As previously reported in the Phoenix, joint patrols between Providence police and the state police are one part of what has helped to reduce violent crime in Rhode Island's capital city. Governor Carcieri, Mayor Cicilline, and Colonels Doherty and Esserman are slated to announce the latest effort this afternoon.

A little more than a week ago, Providence had recorded two homicides this year. Now, that number has doubled, to four.

The way in which the body count can suddenly rise explains why some observers, as I wrote last week, remain guarded in discussing Providence's success in reducing violent crime. Then again, the two latest homicides -- one stemming from a dispute between two men with criminal records and another involving domestic violence -- don't necessarily mean that the city is any less safe.